Search capabilities for ChatGPT, Copilot, DuckDuckGo, and other platforms aren’t working properly right now due to a Microsoft outage that appears to be related to the Bing application programming interface (API). Sites and services are either completely unavailable or only intermittently responding at the time of publication.

The issues — which began around 3AM ET — appear to be linked to Bing’s API and any service that relies upon it. While Microsoft’s own web search engine Bing was also seemingly affected earlier, according to Techcrunch, the service now appears to be correctly loading search results.

Other search engines like DuckDuckGo and Ecosia, which rely on Bing’s API, are unable to load any search results. Microsoft’s Copilot is also experiencing similar issues, displaying a loading loop that prevents users from accessing the service. ChatGPT, which allows Plus subscribers to perform web searches, is similarly displaying an error message when users attempt to make a search enquiry.

Microsoft has acknowledged the loading issues with its Copilot service, saying it’s “working to isolate the cause of the issue.” Meanwhile, Microsoft’s service health platform doesn’t flag any other service outages currently. OpenAI and Ecosia have confirmed that they are experiencing issues with their platform’s search features, and OpenAI says it’s also investigating the issue.

This story is developing…

Cropping photos in iOS 17 has become a breeze. Gone are the days of the multistep process that tested your patience.

Now, with the latest update, iOS 17 streamlines the process, allowing you to crop your photos quickly and efficiently.

Editing photos with iOS 17: A one-tap wonder

Editing photos on your iPhone is now simpler than ever. With iOS 17, all it takes is one tap to start editing your photos.

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Here’s how to crop, rotate or flip your photos

• Open the Photos app on your iPhone.
• Choose a photo that you want to crop.
• Zoom in on the photo if needed. To zoom in on the image, use a pinch-out gesture on the screen. Place two fingers close together on the photo itself and spread them apart. Keep spreading your fingers until you’ve zoomed in enough to focus on the desired area of the photo. This will allow you to examine finer details and make precise cropping adjustments.
• Press the crop button in the top right corner of your screen.

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Steps to crop your phone on iPhone (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

• Utilize the full crop menu to adjust the aspect ratio, Flip, Rotate or Straighten your photo.
• To flip, tap the triangle to flip the image horizontally.
• To rotate, tap the square with an arrow over it to rotate the photo 90 degrees.
• To straighten, use the slider to adjust the photo’s angle until you achieve the desired alignment.

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Steps to flip, rotate or straighten your photos on iPhone (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

• Tap Done to save your edits, or if you don’t like your changes, tap Cancel, then tap Discard Changes.

Steps to crop your photos (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

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Undo and redo edits

As you edit a photo, tap undo and redo at the top of the screen to undo and redo multiple edit steps.

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Kurt’s key takeaways

The introduction of one-tap photo cropping in iOS 17 is a significant leap forward in user convenience. This feature not only saves time but also makes photo editing accessible to everyone. Whether you’re a professional photographer or someone who loves capturing moments, the new iOS 17 ensures that your memories are just a tap away from perfection.

With the ease of use provided by iOS 17’s photo editing features, do you see yourself editing photos more often, why or why not? Let us know by writing us at Cyberguy.com/Contact.

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NASA has turned on the electric Hall thrusters of Psyche, a spacecraft that’s now gently motoring toward a metal-rich asteroid embedded in the main asteroid belt beyond Mars. The agency says Psyche is in “full cruise” mode now, six months after launching on October 13th, 2023, on a conventional, SpaceX rocket.

On the way, NASA used Psyche to test laser-based deep space communications. The craft shot a communications laser back at the Earth from close to 10 million miles out, which is a first for NASA. It’s expected to reach its target and namesake, the Psyche asteroid, by 2029 and will orbit it for two years, observing and sending data back to NASA. Scientists suspect Psyche is actually the beginning core of a planet, also called a planetesimal.

Ion propulsion is both relatively new and pretty old for NASA. The agency has been working on the tech since before US astronauts first flew to the Moon, having test-fired its first ion thruster in 1964. They also have no moving parts; instead, they generate thrust by exciting xenon particles, pushing them out of the thruster. You can read more about them in this NASA paper (PDF) describing ion propulsion.

There are lots of different kinds of ion propulsion, including the magnetic Hall thrusters used by Psyche. In 2018, Psyche’s Spacecraft Chief Engineer wrote this detailed explanation of the differences between those and other ion thrusters, as well as other kinds like arc jets and microwave thrusters.

NASA first used ion propulsion as a spacecraft’s main propulsion for 1998’s Deep Space 1, a mission specifically conducted to test “various advanced technologies for future interplanetary missions.” In 2007, Dawn became NASA’s “first exclusively science-focused” mission to use ion thrusters, flying until it ran out of hydrazine, the fuel it used for its orientation thrusters. Without those, it couldn’t turn itself back to maintain communication with NASA

Ion propulsion isn’t powerful enough to launch a rocket from Earth, but they can still reach very high speeds over time. Right now, NASA says Psyche is traveling at 23 miles per second, or about 84,000mph, and will eventually reach 124,000mph. Thrusters like Psyche’s are generally useful because the lack of moving parts makes them durable, and they use less fuel, so they’re lighter and can be used on smaller spacecraft. Plus, they look cool when they’re turned on.